Burden
by BeInfinitexx
Summary: Tenten and her ANBU group go on a mission to guard the Kazekage but what happens when she starts to get feelings for him? What will happen with her and Neji's notorious relationship? NejiTen in the beginning then changes. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys this is my _first story_ so please tell me if i need to fix,change, or if my writing is horrible. Please review this: cause if you don't how will I get better? :)**

They moved silently, with cat-like grace. Pushing off the branches to increase their speed. They had been like this, in constant motion, for two days straight and it had taken a toll on them. The only reason they were able to run for two days straight was that their bodies were use to it. It was their brains that wanted to fall asleep. As if sensing each other's thoughts they looked at one another and nodded. It took them a couple more strides to slow down in order to come to a complete stop. The trio spent the next five minutes setting up a camp and safety traps. They removed the masks they were wearing and layed down by the fire. Sleep claimed them quickly.

The next morning they were all awake few minutes before the sun started to rise. After packing everything up, and slipping on their masks once again the tallest of the trio took off with the other two following, their destination; Suna. After another day of travel the group finally arrived at the gates entrance to Suna. One of the guards greeted them and led them straight to the Kazekage's office. When informed the Kazekage was not in his office they opted to waiting for him.

**Part 2**

As Gaara walked down the long corridor to his office someone called to him from behind.

"Kazekage! Kazekage-sama," called a tall shinobi. The redhead simply turned his head and waited for the man to speak.

"There are three shinobi from Konoha sent under Hokage's orders, awaiting your entrance,"

With a nod the Kazekage signaled he understood.

When he arrived at his office he saw three people kneeling on one knee with their right arm crossed on their knee. They face the floor not him. He gently closed the door behind him. The group still kept their heads down.

"You don't have to kneel for me," Gaara told them quietly.

"We kneel to those we respect," said a male voice behind the mask on the right. He looked the Kazekage in the eye for the first time since entering his office.

"And we respect you very much. Right guys?" the male asked his teammates.

"Right!" chorused two female voices, also looking up to the young Kage. A ghost of a smile grazed Gaara's face.

"Rise," he said to them. The group did as they were told. Behind the mask of the first one, the male, you could see spiky blonde hair peaking up. The second shinobi was a brunette that had her hair up two buns; she was also the shortest of the group. The second female on the end had hair that fell all the way to her waist and was shockingly white, with the ends dip-dyed a purplish blue color. She was almost as tall as the male.

They removed their masks as they stood. When looked at a close distance you could see that each of them was beautiful. The male, names Naruto, had piercing blue eyes that seemed as if they could see right through you. His figure was one of a professional athlete lean but with muscles. The girl in the middle, Tenten was her name, had wide, warm, chocolate eyes, but held a fierce expression. Her body figure held the grace of a ballerina, lean and flexible. The last girl was named Rin. Her hair practically sparkled with every movement of her head; she had a long and lean look almost like a surfers body. Her eyes were the same color as the end of her hair, and they sparkled with mischief.

"I told the Fifth only one escort was needed not three of her best," Gaara said in has quiet but commanding voice.

"It's been a long time Naruto," the Kazekage said acknowledging Naruto.

"It has, hasn't it," Naruto smiled at his old and closest friend.

"You too, Tenten," Gaara nodded at the smaller girl.

Her smile replaced her fierce look with one of kindness and respect towards the Kazekage.

"You too, Kazekage-sama," she replied.

"And you are?" Gaara asked the last girl.

She had a sly smile and bowed slightly,

"Rin. At your service Gaara-sama."

Gaara was a little surprised at this stranger's straight forwardness. Tenten just had to roll her eyes, mocking the younger girl. Naruto caught her eye and she broke into a sheepish grin when caught.

"So why three?" Gaara asked, now speaking to Naruto or Tenten. Just not the other girl, which he knew was going to be trouble.

"Well," Naruto started, "It was originally suppose to be just Tenten cause she's strong _and _smart," he explained with air quotes around the description, Tenten rolled her eyes again.

"But I happened to hear that she was going to see you. So I jump at the chance. Granny- Tsunade had Rin in her office she made her tag along cause she said she took up too much space. So with the many blessings of Granny-Tsunade-"

"More like curses," interrupted Tenten.

Expecting Naruto to tell her to shut up or something, instead Tenten felt something flutter in her stomach when she caught Gaara looking at her and he kept his gaze on her until Naruto finished.

" And we set off into the sunset," finished Naruto.

"Great," smirked Gaara softly, looking away from Tenten and breaking whatever she was feeling.

"I'll me you guys at the gates in five minutes," he said dismissively. They all stood there for a couple of seconds until Tenten broke the silence slipping her mask on

"Outside, stupid's," she left the room expecting the other two to follow. Which they did murmuring, "Oh right,"

Once they were out of the office they visibly relaxed. Even Tenten was in a good mood; she let Rin and Naruto tell corny jokes. A couple of minutes later as Gaara walked down to the gates he saw the three figures waiting for him. Rin had the posture of a sly cat. He notices, when she moved, that she also had two sword crossed at her back with tiger print handles, and she wore a crystal around her neck that had a green tint to it. The last time he had seen Tenten was after he was rescued by team Gai and Kakashi, and brought back to life. She seemed younger back then and had a fiercer look on her face. Probably due to the fact that her teammates on Team 10 were two very string shinobi's from the Leaf and had great determination. Back then you could tell they loved her as a sister. Neji and Lee would always looking out for her even if she was backup or when she covered them. But now that they were separated it looked like she had taken the position as squad leader in this Anub group. He remembered that she used to dress in a tomboyish way but now that she had to wear the official uniform he noticed that the suit hugged her everywhere and she had the body of a dancer-_what?_ He chided himself. What was he saying about someone he knew as a long time friend.

He snapped out of it and looked at Naruto's smiling face. Even though Naruto could be annoying Gaara missed his old friend. Everyday after looking at stacks and stacks of paper no his desk he missed everyone's smiling faces. Once they sensed him a few feet back they sobered up stood waiting expectantly for the Kazekage.

"Let's go." They took off silently.

**Author's Note*****Thank you soo much for reading this! I officially love you. **Please review** and tell me my mistakes, sometimes I can't keep one point of view for a long time so please tell me. I will try to update weekly or more than once a week but i have the story all written down and need to type it:( I will try just for the people that review3***Thank you Review please:)


	2. Chapter 2

Recap- The group sobered up once they sensed the Kazekage behind them.

"Let's go." he said once he reached them. They took off silently. —

Their formation was simple; Tenten took the lead in front of Gaara. The other two were slightly behind Gaara, so they could cover his back, Rin on the left and Naruto on the right. Everything had gone smoothly on the way back to Konohagakure until the last day.

"Tenten," Naruto called. She turned her head slightly towards him, showing him that she was listening.

"They've been following us for the past 10 minutes. I didn't bother telling you 'cause I thought we were going to make it," he told her

"But now they're moving fast, about a mile behind me."

"How many?" she asked

"Five."

"Drop out and hold them. Catch up when you're done," she commanded. Rin and Naruto both nodded. They stopped and dropped down through the many branches.

"Come one," she told Gaara. After about a couple of minutes of smooth travel Gaara spoke up

"Stop." He told her in his quite but commanding voice, she did.

Two ninjas appeared before them. They had headbands with their villages symbol scratched out. _Rogue Ninjas _thought Tenten. She was about to move up a branch when Gaara grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"They have a baby with them," he answered the question in her eyes. She looked closer at the men saw that they did have a baby with them. It was strapped in a bundle on the back of the tallest man.

"I see it," she said looking yet again "But it's not real," She summoned a large shuriken and threw it. As it flew the giant shuriken broke off into smaller ones that caught fire once they hit. The men disappeared once the shuriken caught fire.

"Oh, what a sharp kid," remarked a voice above them. They both looked up, at the real form of the ninjas.

"Now if you move out the way, we only want the Kazekage," The man smirked.

"You're funny," replied Tenten with her own smirk thought it couldn't be seen.

"You guard the one with the kid, I'll take care of the other one," Gaara nodded at her request. She went up a branch to get closer, while with a wall of sand, Gaara isolated the man with the child.

"Come're princess," the man teased Tenten. He had a raspy voice that only spelled out trouble for Tenten. She slowly went up the next branch.

"Good. Now come closer so I can kill you," said the man.

Tenten just giggled and summoned a sword. It looked familiar and Gaara noted that it was one of Rin's swords.

"That's not gonna touch me," said the man. Tenten ignored him, she threw the sword, with such force so he wouldn't snatch it from the air. It went spinning over his head until it landed on the branch behind him with a thud.

"It's not suppose to," Tenten said in reply to his earlier comment. With a quick hand seal, the sword behind the man became Rin and as quick as lighting she pierce him from behind.

"One left," remarked Rin with a devious smile. Tenten slid her mask behind her head.

"We aren't going to make this easy," she called to the kidnapper behind Gaara's sand.

"Rin!" she called just as she opened her scroll and threw shuriken shower again. Rin disappeared then reappeared along side the shuriken. Right before the shurikens hit the bad man she pushed him down with her. Her momentum made him turn so he could catch himself. Rin then untied the baby and disappeared again right before they hit the next branch. Naruto appeared right in Rin's spot and in the next seconds. He slammed the culprit down into the next three branches with a shout "Rasengan!"

Both Tenten and Gaara went for the baby. She jumped to catch it and fell back down with the baby until sand surrounded her and set her on her feet.

The baby opened her eyes as if nothing had happened. To Tenten's surprise, the baby had deep purple eyes that looked so intelligent for a baby. She rocked the baby and shushed it when she started to stir.

A couple of branches back Naruto and Rin were high-fiving each other and commenting on their teamwork. They soon joined Tenten, praising her for the plan. As Gaara joined them they decided to head for Konoha once more.

"Tenten are you sure you don't need help with the baby?" Rin pleaded once again. Tenten knew Rin only wanted the baby so she could walk into the village and have everyone praise her for saving a baby.

"Fine. Here," Tenten said, handing the baby over to the eager shinobi. When she had the girl in her arms Rin sped up. As they stopped near the gates entrance right before walking through, Gaara turned to Tenten and asked her

"Why did you do that?"

She looked him directly in the eye before answering.

"Because I don't want all the fame, and praise. I have a feeling that baby was something important,"

"Good job Ten-Chan," Naruto said with a quick kiss on her cheek, and a ruffle of her hair, before catching up to Rin.

"Come, Tsunade-Sama is expecting you," she told the Kazekage.

Lady Hokage dismissed Tenten but told to wait outside her office for a moment. Tenten bowed to both Kages and felt Gaara's gaze follow her from behind. Strangely, it made her stomach flutter.

After waiting for almost a whole hour, Tsunade opened her office door and stepped outside. Shizune followed suit with the child in her arms.

"Escort the Kazekage to laboratory 2. Someone will be expecting him there. By the end of the week Gaara must be escorted back to Suna. A Kage can only be away from home so long before something happens," "I will take care of it," Tenten said, nodding to every order. She looked around really quick, looking for the young Kage.

"Good, go." Tsunade nodded towards outside, answering Tenten's looks.

Tenten turned to go, but stopped before she rounded the corner

"Tenten," Called the Hokage. She turned slightly.

"Rin and Naruto told me what happened. Good job." Tenten nodded in acknowledgment before leaving.

Outside stood the Kazekage waiting for her. His expression was unreadable.

"Sorry for making you wait Kazekage-Sama," Tenten said with a slight bow.

"I think we've known each other long enough to stop with the titles," he told her. She smiled slightly ashamed that that was the second time he told her that. As they walked across Konoha to lab 2 Tenten made small talk with him.

"So, how's running a village?"

"Not as easy as it sounds," he smirked

"I bet. I saw your desk over at Suna. It was stacked with papers," she remarked.

"Well that's embarrassing," he said

"What is?" she said, truly curious that he would admit embarrassment.

"The way you put it, it doesn't seem like I'm doing such a good job does it?" he said looking away from her.

Tenten softened her look and touched his arm without thinking.

"I didn't say that. I think your doing a great job," Gaara looked back at her, which made her stutter.

"I-I mean you protected your village with your life," she said softly avoiding his stare.

He stopped walking and really looked at her.

"That's not what the other Kages think," he said.

"That's not it," Tenten said thoughtfully.

"They're just looking out for you. You know, because you're the youngest. Just like how Neji and Lee always look out for me," realizing she was still touching him, she dropped her arm awkwardly.

Gaara knew it was weird but as soon as her hand left his arm all the warmth left with her.

"Has Naruto been rubbing off on you?" he asked her with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood. He continued walking once again.

"No," she said thoughtfully " He's just taught me many things. I never really expected him to become one of my closest friends. Plus, you haven't known me long enough to assume," she said jokingly.

"Yeah," Gaara said softly "I never really expected Naruto to become my friend either,"

Tenten considered his words for a while, but said nothing. She wanted to tell him that she was his friend too, but thought that it would sound too straightforward.

"We're here," she said opening the door to Lab 2.

"Shikamaru!" Tenten said excitedly once she opened the door and saw the only person in the lab.

"Oh, are _you_ expecting Gaara-Sama?"

"Actually yeah, we have things to discuss, it's troublesome but, I can't ignore Lady Hokage," he drawled in his lazy voice.

"Alright, I'll see you later Shikamaru, and Gaara-Sama," Tenten said turning to go. But before she opened the door all the way she stopped and turned around.

"Shikamaru?" she said softly from the doorway.

"Yeah," Shikamaru said. Answering her unspoken question. With a big smile on her face Tenten left the lab.

"Troublesome women," Shikamaru murmured shaking his head.


	3. Chapter 3

Recap—"Shikamaru?" Tenten asked softly from the doorway.

"Yeah," he answered the question in her eyes. She left with a big smile on her face.

"Troublesome women," he murmured, shaking his head. -

Outside, Tenten sighed, clearing her head. She had been going over her conversation with Gaara, noting the way he looked. When she first saw him in his office she didn't really expect him to remember her name or who she was for the matter. But he did, and that right there made her smile. She didn't know why? it just did. Of course afterwards she felt stupid because it had only been a year since she last saw him but strangely it felt like many years. As she walked across Konoha to her apartment building she was so zoned out that she didn't notice the big white tiger charging towards her until the last second.

She looked up right before it bounded on her, toppling both of them over. To any other villager it looked like Tenten was actually fighting the beast. But to Tenten this was an almost everyday thing. The growls and grumbles the tiger was making weren't vicious it sounded more like it was just playing, which it was. Tenten laughed along, finally being able to push him off.

"Ren!" called Rin from behind them.

"Look what you did! You got Tenny all dirty!" she scolded her pet tiger. He was like Kiba's Akamaru but in tiger form.

"Aww, he was just playing," Tenten said scratching him behind the ear.

Rin was a little surprised that Tenten wasn't scolding him. Instead she was defending her attacker, and she had a silly smile plastered on her face.

_This only means one thing, _thought Rin. With a devilish smile she walked up to Tenten.

"So Neji's back," she said slyly.

"Have you seen him?" Tenten said, perking up.

"Nope." Said Rin, ruining her hopeful thoughts.

"But your face says it all,"

Tenten blushed and looked away

"Oh, um, I just remembered I gotta go, bye!" she hastly added.

"Wait!" Rin stopped her.

"I need you to baby sit-er, tiger-sit Ren," she said, reveling the real reason she had run into Tenten.

"Please Tenny? I have to go on a three day mission with Kenji and a squad of 4, Ren is just…just a distraction,"

Tenten could see that Rin was truly upset over not being able to bring Ren. Not just by the way she was picking at the ends of her hair but her eyes had more of a purple tint to them rather than blue. Tenten had once told her on a mission that her eyes seemed to change colors based on how she was feeling, but the white-headed girl did not believe her. Ren was like a baby to her, her best friend. Rin usually took him everywhere unless it was not allowed. She even slept with on the same bed, vene though he had a room of his own, _inside _her house. Tenten shuddered at all the hairballs found throughout out Rin's bedroom.

"Where's his food?" Tenten sighed, giving in to Rin's request, Rin squealed.

"In the forest behind training ground number 4 just take him and he'll smell it. His vitamins are at your door. Put them into his water-"

"Yeah, yeah. I know the drill," Tenten cut her off.

"Thank you!" Rin grinned, and with a quick kiss on Tenten's cheek, and a pet on Ren's head, she ran off.

Tenten looked at the massive white beast. It almost looked like one of Sai's paintings, but with the exact details of course.

"Guess you're stuck with me, buddy," she told him as he huffed in response. She continued walking towards her home with Ren trailing besides her, she remembered how Rin had called her out on her expression. The brunette felt guilty because she hadn't been thinking about Neji. She had been thinking about the young Kazekage again.

She hadn't been able to spot Neji on the streets so the Weapons Mistress decided to go straight home. Once inside her home Ren let out a huge yawn, making Tenten giggle. Spotting his vitamins inside her house rather than outside, she carried them to the kitchen. After instructing the tiger his sleeping space, and a quick set of rules as to where he was suppose to step out to use the bathroom or clean himself and such, she went upstairs to her bedroom bathroom for a quick shower.

After her shower Tenten stepped out of her bathroom and headed towards her closet but stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed a certain someone sitting on her bed. With one hand on her hip and her head cocked to one side she said

"You know normally your suppose to knock before entering another persons house," she teased.

"I would if you actually started locked your doors, plus, I'm no stranger," a deep voice responded.

"Shikamaru told me you were back, Neji,"

He stood up from the bed and stepped closer to her.

"Really I was just with him. And guess who I saw with him?"

"Who?" she asked, honestly curious.

"Gaara and Naruto,"

"Oh, I already knew that,"

"Oh? Aren't you the smart one?"

She giggled

"I escorted him here and Naruto was with me,"

"I haven't seen anyone in such a long time, I kinda missed Naruto's loud voice," He teased her, and then smirked when he saw her expression.

"But I missed you most,"

Tenten grinned up at him. As he stepped closer she took her time to admire him. He had his hair tied loosely behind him. His broad shoulders brandished with the Konohagakure ANBU mark, same as her. His face all broad angles, he had pale creamy eyes that seemed as if they could see through anything, which they actually could. He stood about half a foot taller than her, and also had a lean athletic build. They had been best friends for years, and he sure was the type of guy any girl would go after. He knew what made her tick,what she disliked or liked. When they had first started going out he had told her that he would protect her from all the men after her too. But Tenten didn't believe any guy would actually fall for her. And she still didn't believe it.

"You're zoning out again, you need more sleep," he said, breaking her trance, and finally walking up to her. With a mischievous glint in her eyes she suggested

"You can join me if you want,"

Neji raised an eyebrow lightly.

"I would, but I was sent here to fetch you, so no time,"

Tenten knew he was just teasing her because she had told him flat out that she wanted to take things slow until work lightened up or until they were older. He respected that, because work always came first.

When he was just a breath away she suddenly realized she only had on a towel. Taking a step back and her cheeks blazing, she told him

"Well we should get going and I should get dressed," walking around him to reach her closet.

He smirked

"Yes, you wouldn't want to cause a scene at the Hokage's office. I'll wait for you downstairs," he turned and strode out of her room.

_Like Tsunade-sama would ever let me live something like that down,_ she thought.

Tenten didn't bother putting on her ANBU attire because she knew if it was a serious emergency they would have sent someone other than Neji to fetch her. She opted for a pair of her training shorts, her sandals and a t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Pinning her hair up in its usual buns, which she had taken down before her shower. She descended down the stairs rapidly. Only to stop once again, noticing a knocked out Ren lying on her kitchen floor.

"What did you do to him?" she said, glancing at Neji.

He merely shrugged.

"He tried to attack me. Don't worry he'll wake up soon. He's a fighter, wouldn't go down with just one chakra channel blocked,"

He nodded at her

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Patting Ren one last time before departing.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**A/N: **Sorry for this crappy chapter and the long wait. I recently started reading Bleach and I'm debating on if i should actually watch the anime too, should I?I promised action for this one but that didn't happen I got very distracted by Bleach:3. I feel obsessed with it! I can't handle all these different things~~ Technically this is just another filler:/ I'm having trouble trying to change my plot now I want it to be more exciting. Oh well, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters:/

* * *

Recap—

He nodded at her

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," Patting Ren one last time before departing. -

They shunpo'd into the Hokage's office, not expecting it to be full of people. It seemed like the only person not there was Rin. All eyes trained on her as she stepped forward

"You called for me Tsunade-Sama?"

"Yeah, and it took you long enough!" Naruto called from the back of the room. She ignored him but blushed when she remembered what Neji had said back at her apartment.

"Actually, yes." spoke the Godaime "Since you're basically free for the rest of the week and a half-"

"I though Ga-the Kazekage was suppose to return at the end of this week," Tenten said cutting her off.

"Yes, originally, but he and Shikamaru have matters to discuss over what they were investigating,"

Tenten nodded in understanding.

"Like wise, you are to stay with him wherever he goes just incase he-" the Fifth was cut off once more, much to her growing frustration, as said Kazekage walked in with one swift knock and waited for all eyes to turn on him before speaking

"Godaime-Sama, I do not require extra assistant. I can handle it all myself." His soft voice heard throughout the whole room

"Gaara," this time it was Naruto who spoke. He walked to stand on the left of Tenten, which was the opposite of Gaara, who was on her right.

"I know you feel as if it's too much but, a little backup won't hurt."

Everyone looked at Naruto, who was rarely ever the voice of reason.

"Tenten doesn't mind. I'll even do it myself!" he finished cheerfully.

"Enough!" Tsunade stood from her desk.

"No, Naruto. You can't help out because I have you and your team booked for the next three weeks! Tenten you are in charge of escorting the Kazekage, anything goes wrong, it's your head." He said pointing at a gulping Tenten.

"Kazekage-sama I mean no disrespect and even though there have been no reports of any sorts that concern security there is nothing wrong with a little backup." With no reply from Gaara, she walked out yelling dismissed. Of course no one moved for while. They all just stared at each other.

"I'm hungry!" Naruto said, being the first to break the silence

"I'll see you guys later!" he left the room, followed by Kakashi and a couple other shinobi. Neji soon followed nudging Tenten. Glancing at Gaara she spoke

"Kazekage-sama, tomorrow I will be waiting for you at lab 2," she was about to speak again, thinking he hadn't heard her, but he nodded. Not looking at either her or Neji, he walked out of the room as swiftly as he had come.

"Oh! I almost forgot, I have to ask Shizune-senpai about something," Tenten said, giving Neji a quick peck and turning around to the Hokage's office. With a questioning look at her back Neji took off. Having re-entered the Hokage's office she found the person she was looking for.

"Shizune-Sempia?

"Hm, what is it Tenten? I thought you had already left," said the older women.

"Yes, well. I had forgotten that I wanted to ask you something…"

Shizune nodded at her to go on.

"Well, you see, um. It's, uh, about the baby that Rin brought in from my last mission," Tenten didn't know why she was so nervous in front of Shizune, she had always been like an older sister to her.

"Yes, what about it?"

With a deep breath Tenten blurted out quickly

"Could I see it, if it's possible. I mean sometimes only authorized personal are allowed, but maybe-"

"It's alright, Tenten," Shizune told her laughing. "No need to get so worked up about it,"

Tenten was blushing from embarrassment

"Come, I'll show the way."

"Here she is," Shizune said once they had reached the baby's spot.

"Although when we examined her everything turned out alright. She's a perfectly healthy girl. Her age is about 2 years old"

"So what's the problem?" Tenten asked hearing her worried tone.

Shizune reached over and took the sleeping little girl out of the little crib she was in.

"Well she hasn't woken up since the day she was brought in,"

"Really? She was awake when we rescued her," Tenten told.

"Well, it is possible she's just traumatized," Shizune said

"She was perfectly calm when we brought her in,"

"Like I said, it's probably the after shock or symptoms. I'm not sure yet," Shizune placed the girl back in the crib.

"I'll be right back. Let me go get her records," Tenten nodded as Shizune walked out of the room.

Not being able to resist she picked up the little girl unwrapping her from all the blankets that she was bundled in. her hair was the same chestnut color as Tenten's except as Tenten's was straight the girls was curly. The little girl began to stir in her arms and Tenten panicked.

"Shhhh. Don't wake up, but I mean it would be good if you did," she talked nervously to the baby. The little girl started whimpering and squirming in Tenten's arms.

"Um, please don't cry if you do wake up."

Her whimpers grew louder.

"Okay, okay. Now, don't cry. If you cry I'll get my silly friend Naruto to come and make you laugh,"

_Wow. I'm talking to a baby who probably doesn't understand me,_ thought Tenten, rocking the baby back and forth.

"One time all of my friends got together, and we had a race… Naruto was in the race and he was so excited that he twisted his ankle in a hole and rolled down the hill into the lake at the bottom. But he wasn't worried about being hurt, he was worried about not being able to eat his ramen. He's practically married to ramen that's all he eats," Tenten rambled

"You know what? That wasn't even funny. Wow I feel stupid um, yeah-"

Tenten stopped when she heard giggles at her shoulder. Panicking again she lifted the baby towards her face and saw that she had her eyes open. And they were the same beautiful purple from back in the forest.

Wow, Tenten mouthed.

"Aren't you adorable," she told the girl and much to Tenten's surprise the little girl smiled at her. Actually smiled at her.

"You sure don't act like a two year old. You act like you actually understand me,"

The little brunette opened her mouth as if to respond but was stopped by Shizune's shriek.

"I can't believe you got her to wake up! Tenten, how did you do it?" Shizune squealed "May I see her?" she asked Tenten but the baby answered instead, nodding her head.

"I have to show Tsunade-Sama," she took the baby and left the room.

Tenten was still shocked by how intelligent the baby seemed for a two year old. She walked out of the Hokage's building speechless. The fresh, crisp air outside cleared her mind a little on her way home. Passing the building the Kazekage was staying at she couldn't help but feel like she had to tell someone and if it would be anyone he would be someone who would listen to her crazy talk. Looking west, towards the Hokage mountain monument. She saw the big moon behind the faces and thought she saw someone on top of the Fourth's head but when she blinked, it was gone.

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Thank you guys:) I'll try my best


	5. Chapter 5

Rain drenched the usually sandy streets of the village. Now puddles covered almost every spot. Some roads around Konoha were so flooded that they ran downstream like a river.

Usually Tenten didn't mind waking up early for a mission or for practice, but on days when one could barely see anything that isn't two feet in front of them, she hated going to work. Not only had the rain messed up her plans for a good day today, but also her A/C decided to stop working the night before. She decided not to contact Neji because she didn't want to bother him, knowing he had a mission the next day. The last cause of her morning problems was that the giant white beast she was babysitting, decided to crawl into her bed at night and leaving fur everywhere! Even a shower with five extra minutes didn't stop her skin from itching.

Rushing to put her daily nin outfit on, she tripped, stepping on Ren's tail and causing him to roar at her in pain. Her heart nearly stopped, knowing, that at that moment, he had the upper hand. Grabbing her smaller scrolls, Tenten dashed out the door into the pouring rain that felt so nice on her hot skin. She made it to Lab 2 just under fifteen seconds. After banging on the door a couple of times, a frustrated Shikamaru finally emerged from the other side.

"Why are you here?" He asked her unceremoniously.

"Weren't you at the meeting last night?" She shot back.

With a frown on his face and a slight shrug of his shoulders he said

"I fell asleep."

Causing, an already wet Tenten, to roll her eyes at him.

"Hey, where's the Kazekage?"

"He went to get something needed for the investigation," Shikamaru said with another shrug.

"By himself! Why did you let him go by himself! Tsunade-sama is going to kill me!"

"Calm down. He's with Naruto. It's your fault for being late."

Tessa glared at the accusation.

"Yeah, well-"

"We're back! Shikamaru, we're back!" Naruto's loud voice echoed throughout the empty building.

He approached them with Gaara right behind him holding a bos filled with paper.

"Hey, Tenten! You're late!" He practically yelled in her ear. The water droplets covering his hair, falling on her face with a flick of his head.

"Yes, about that, my apologies Kazekage-sama," She said with a bow.

"No need for that. We were only gone five minutes," He said quietly, walking over to a table behind Shikamaru that was filled with papers and stacked with thick books.

"So what's this investigation about that you can't let the research department handle it?" Tenten asked, directing her question towards Shikamaru, but it was Gaara who answered

"We're not authorized to speak about that."

_Oh_, she mouthed.

"Alright, let's start this," Shikamaru said, sitting at one of the many seats around the table.

"Oh, and Naruto?" he said slowly. Naruto faced him with a questioning look.

"You're late."

With a couple of curse words and a quick 'see ya later guys!' he disappeared.

"Where's he going?" Tenten asked

"To guard Suna."

Tenten opened her mouth to ask why but Shikamaru cut her off with a look in his eyes.

"Stand guard at the front door, Tenten. No one's allowed in or out without personal permission from us."

Tenten had a series of questions going through her head but she held them in. Nodding at Shikamaru and bowing to an oblivious Gaara, she set up locks and traps around the only two exits in the building as Shikamaru told her. Then when she finished she stood guard. The way she was trained as a new member of the ANBU. Tenten recalled that one time at a mission over seas she had to stand guard for two days straight, guarding an obnoxious princess, that had fallen head over heals for Neji. She hadn't really minded the crush the older girl had on Neji. But when the princess started requesting Neji for everything, she had gotten quite irritated. Tenten knew Neji wouldn't fall for this abnormally loud girl, but she still got possessive when the princess requested him.

Drifting away from her memories, she started to wonder why Shikamaru wanted no one to come in or go _out. _What were they researching that was so important? But not important enough that they had only one person guarding the building from the outside and one on the inside? The way the Kazekage spoke meant he didn't want to say more of it. The way Shikamaru looked at her meant he didn't want to or couldn't press on the subject any longer. She was lost in her thoughts when Tenten heard Shikamaru call her name fifteen minutes later. She had been watching a mental clock that was required when going on missions.

"I need to report back to Lady Hokage,"

"Of course," She said with a nod as she undid the jutsu she had on the door. She stared holes into Shikamaru's back until he disappeared right before turning the corner. With a sigh, she shut the door and turned to face Gaara, who was already looking at her. He had the most piercing eyes gaze, she didn't know where to look so she just looked down.

"I'd send you home to rest but then we would both get yelled at," He said in his quiet voice. Tenten couldn't help but look up; his voice was so soft that she took a step closer to hear it better.

He looked down at his work, shuffled some paper, and then looked back her.

"You can sit down and wait while I finish," He told her nodding at the seat across from him.

She accepted with a murmur of thanks.

She tried not to make the space around them feel uncomfortable, but her eyes always trailed back to him. The dim light dulled his usually recognizably red hair. She leaned back in her chair, feeling herself get uncomfortable with her own thoughts. Knowing she over thinks things when uncomfortable she decided to think of the only thing that kept her sane. Naruto. Sure, it sounded silly, outrageous even. But the truth was that over the past couple of years, she and Naruto had gotten closer than ever.

He was a better best friend than Neji. She had never felt attraction towards Naruto and he was always so honest. His blunt answers made her day. Sure he was attractive, but she never looked at him that way. When they went on missions together she had seen other girl's lust over him. Trying to impress him or act really shy around him. She knew his deepest secrets and he hers. Nothing was ever an unreachable topic with him. But now he was going to be gone for however long and he's going to be miles away! Who was she suppose to eat dinner with every night? Sakura's always at the hospital and Ino isn't her favorite character. Neji's always gone at night and if her section of the ANBU actually had important jobs during the rainy seasons she wouldn't be home every evening. Not that guarding the Kazekage wasn't important. Speaking of the Kazekage… He was looking right at her. Slight amusement flickered in his eyes.

"What?" She spoke bluntly, as if speaking with Naruto. She mentally berated herself because she knew he could tell her off about it. Not that he seemed the type to do it, but power changes people. He smiled slightly and just that little lift of his mouth lite up his face.

"Your face, when you're lost in thought, it changes with what you're thinking," He explained "You went from smiling to scowling,"

"Oh," She said, thinking of nothing better to say. She looked away from him. His eyes were just so gorgeous, and intimidating!

She smiled slightly, embarrassed at being caught. She knew it was a bad habit of hers. Unconsciously, shifting her emotions when not on duty. It had gotten worse now more than ever. She hadn't had an away mission in weeks because of the rain! That smile quickly turned into a scowl when Shikamaru remarked from the doorway

"Yeah. It happened to me one time and I thought she was glaring at me for no reason. Turns out she was just thinking of going home and cleaning." He drawled, walking to one of the cabinets in the lab. Gaara stood up and she followed suit.

"It's pleasing," He said so quietly that Tenten did a double take but he had his back to her. Shikamaru obviously heard because he was smirking when he turned to look at her.

"I'm guessing you're done with work because it's suddenly 'Mess with Tenten Time,'" Tenten said, speaking mainly to Shikamaru because she wasn't bold enough to speak to the Kazekage that way.

"You're Dismissed. I spoke with Lady Hokage and she said Gaara will be with her the rest of the day.

"Unfortunately," Gaara spoke, walking past her and out the door. Shikamaru passed her too but stopped at the door. Glancing over his shoulder, he spoke.

"I'd be more careful with everyone if I were you."

"What? Shikama-" but he had already stepped outside and closed the door, leaving her alone in the lab. She spent the rest of the night with Ren, after picking up a treat for him at the market because he was acting strange. He had bounded over to her and licked her arm affectionately. Which only made her take a longer shower than usually. She finished getting ready for the night and Ren's whimpering had gotten louder. He paced back in forth over her rug. Her boring night picked up when she heard Ren's fierce roar and a quick rapping at her window. She opened it to find Kakashi, perched on her porch.

"Good evening," he said in a light voice.

"Good even-"

"You're needed at the hospital." Kakashi said, cutting off her greeting.

"What for?" she asked suspiciously. Ren had trotted over to her, trying to push his big head through the window.

"Just don't bring him." Kakashi said before disappearing as quickly as he had come. Replaying his grave voice in her head she rushed to throw pants on and sandals. With a quick pat on Ren's head she dashed out the door.


End file.
